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Summary International Migration
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Summary of tutorials and lectures for the course International Migration.
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Complete Summary International MigrationEXAM INFO
- 25 MC questions (25x1 points)
- 2 open questions (2x10 points)
- You should be able to identify authors and link them to their theories / concepts
Tutorials:
Tutorial session 2: Social Capital
Literature:
- The Age of Migration Ch 3
- “From Bridgeheads to Gate Closers: How Migrant Networks Contribute to
Declining Migration from Morocco to the Netherlands” - Snel, Engbersen &
Faber (2016)
- “What is driving Mexico-US migration? A theoretical, empirical and policy
analysis” - Massey & Espinosa (1997)
What is social capital?
- Social capital is the sum of resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or
groups possessing a durable network
- Social networks give access to support and resources (when one has a membership
in this group)
- This leads to migration networks: relation between migrants, former migrants and
potential migrants
- Institutional actors can also be involved: employers, universities, but also
human traffickers → the migration industry
- Meso-level theory: focus on the (dis)continuation of movement
To what extent and how do informal social networks (migrant networks) facilitate
international migration?
- Networks give information, infrastructure and support to newcomers. Like this they
reduce costs on different levels of migration
- Destination countries often already have communities
- Effect of social remittances and relative deprivation
- Remittances can increase income inequality in origin communities
- Massey’s theory on cumulative causation: migration affects the context in which
the process takes place in such a way that migration becomes more likely
- In other words, this is a self-perpetuating loop: each act of migration creates
additional social capital that promotes and sustains more migration which
creates more social capital
- Social networks also mediate (amplify or weaken) contextual factors
Who supports (potential) migrants and what kind of support do they provide?
- Psychological support from families
- Costs and paperwork support from current migrants living abroad
,To what extent, how, and under what conditions can informal social networks also
undermine international migratory movements?
- Self-sustaining theories on migration include several weaknesses:
- Inability to explain why some pioneers are not followed by a large number of
people in some settings
- The logic in these theories is that migration continues infinitely. Then how do
we explain stagnation?
- Settled migrants can decline help to newcomers
- Negative effects of support networks:
- Selective support
- Dependency
Snel, Engbersen & Faber (2016)
- Argue for how these social networks make migration less likely under certain
circumstances. Case study Morocco-NL flow:
- Economic crisis → less job opportunities for migrants
- Stricter and more selective immigration policies
- Growing hostility towards (Moroccan) immigrants amongst Dutch citizens
- These are arguably direct reasons for a declining immigration flow
- These conditions also cause an indirect decline in Moroccan immigrants
- The hostile attitude and difficult selection makes migrants who already live
here less likely to recommend the Netherlands to friends/family as a migration
destination. -
- Their perception of the Netherlands has changed in comparison to the
1980s.
- Because of the decrease in job opportunities, new migrants are less
likely to get a job → already-living-here migrants are less inclined to
take financial responsibility for them if they are not financially
secure → new migrants won’t make the move if no one can take this
responsibility of them
- Networks can also be exclusionary: tight community is hard to enter for new-comers
Tutorial session 3: Border Control & Unintended Consequences
Literature:
- Age of Migration Ch
- “Why Border Enforcement Backfired” - Massey, Durand & Pren (2016)
Why and in what way do current governments try to regulate and control international
migration?
- Why: to monitor in and out migration (immigrants vs emigrants)
- Border control does not necessarily have to be restrictive, it can also be stimulating
- Border control is a selective process. Selective migration is also about restricting
- Types of migration policies to control:
- Travel visa, carrier sanctions, employer sanctions
- Physical barriers
- Regularization of undocumented migrants
The gap between political rhetoric and actual policy outcomes
, - Discursive gap: toughness of politicians vs watered-down implemented policies
- Implementation gap
- Efficacy gap: the degree to which implemented policies have the intended effect on
the volume, timing, direction and ‘selection’ of migration
- Four possible explanations for such gaps:
- Neo-marxist perspective: immigration policies are a part of the class
struggle. There is a conflict of interest between capital and labor.
- Client politics perspective: the general public has different preferences than
the political elite when it comes to immigration policies.
- Embedded legal constraint perspective: focuses on the processes through
which liberal democracies put legal constraints on the power of the executive
to control immigration (especially human rights)
- External legal constraint perspective: the increasing influence of
international (or even supranational) agreements/rules on national policy
making
Possible unintended consequences of stricter border controls that limit its effectiveness
- De Haas et al (2020) pp. 265
- Spatial substitution: the encouragement of migrating through other
countries without intentionally changing the destination → leads to a
diversification of destinations
- Category jumping / categorical substitution: reorientation of a migrant’s channels
as a result of stricter policies (e.g.: from work migration to family migration)
- Intertemporal substitution: (sudden) peak of migration when a fear and/or
expectation of future tightening policies is raised
- Reverse flow substitution / interrupting circulation: when immigration restrictions
discourage return migration, push migrants into permanent settlement and therefore
interrupt circulation. Circulation of migration relies on arrivals as well as returns
Tutorial session 4: Consequences for sending countries
Literature:
- The Age of Migration Ch 14
- “Social Remittances and Social Change in Central and Eastern Europe:
Embedding Migration in the Study of Society” - White & Grabowska (2019)
How do “development optimists” and “development pessimists” see the positive and
negative effects of emigration on the economic development of sending countries?
- How are these standpoints related to more general migration theories as discussed
in lecture 2?
- What are the arguments of De Haas et al (2020) for a more “nuanced position” in this
debate?
Optimists:
- Neoclassical and functionalist approach: optimists see migration as beneficial for
the sending and receiving countries. Migrants move from poor to richer countries for
socioeconomic gain, they move for a better life, to improve their status and send help
to countries of origin
- Transfer of labor and funds → both countries benefit
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